A homeowner brought an interesting strata dispute to the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT), and it involved two B.C. neighbours fighting over a basketball hoop and the associated noise.
According to the dispute, the respondent in the case erected a basketball hoop in the laneway behind both parties’ strata lots “so the children could play basketball.”
The strata was the other respondent in the case.
The applicant, the respondent’s next-door neighbour, argued that the hoop created an obstruction, alleged it was a safety hazard, and complained about noise, disturbances, and damage to property.
The applicant claimed $5,000 in damages against the strata and homeowner and sought an order to remove the hoop.
In response, the strata denied accusations about unreasonable noise and said that noise of that nature should be expected in a multi-family strata complex. The strata also said that the children only play during daytime hours.
In addition, the strata refuted the claims that there was any property damage and that it was not a safety hazard. The strata said that the hoop has a heavy base to prevent it from tipping, but that it is easily movable in case of emergency.
The respondent neighbour said they had conversations with other neighbours who did not have any issues with the basketball hoop.
The strata dispute states that the respondent erected the free-standing hoop in May 2022.
Over the next two-plus years, the dispute decision says that various children played basketball in the laneway, and that in that time, the applicant sent several complaints to the strata, alleging safety issues arose from the basketball hoop. The strata took no action.
On June 13, 2024, the applicant applied to the CRT for a resolution.
The tribunal first looked at whether or not the respondent created a nuisance by erecting the hoop.
“In the strata context, unreasonable noise is noise that substantially interferes with the use and enjoyment of property. To meet this standard, the noise must be intolerable to an ordinary person. Whether noise is objectively intolerable depends on factors such as its nature, intensity, frequency, duration, and timing,” the tribunal said.
The applicant provided some evidence in the form of images, which showed that in one instance, the kids were playing basketball at 8:18 p.m. and 9:27 p.m.
While the strata said it could see how kids playing basketball for up to four hours a day could rise to “unreasonable interference”, the applicants didn’t provide enough evidence around the intensity and nature of the noise.
There were a couple of doorbell camera videos submitted into evidence.
“The videos have sound, and you can hear basketballs bouncing and children making noise and having fun,” the tribunal said.
The videos weren’t enough to persuade the tribunal that the noise was unreasonable.
“I find the noise heard in the videos generally sounds reasonable. It sounds like children playing, which I find a reasonable person living in a multi-family strata would expect to hear,” the tribunal said.
The tribunal dismissed the $5,000 claim.
However, the applicant did win on two claims. The first was that the basketball hoop created a passage obstruction. Second, according to the dispute, the strata bylaws prevent kids from playing unsupervised.
This led to the tribunal deciding that the applicant was treated significantly unfairly.
The tribunal awarded the B.C. homeowner who started the dispute $1,192.34, with $1,000 for damages for significant unfairness and the rest in tribunal fees. It did not order the respondent to remove the hoop.
You can read the full homeowner dispute on the B.C. Tribunal website.